Ketamine is a sedative that has been around for about 50 years. It has been shown to alleviate depression in studies going back more than a decade, but the drug is not FDA-approved to treat the mental disorder, Woodring said.

But a new study published last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows that low doses of ketamine are effective at reducing suicidal thoughts in people who suffer from depression, in as little as a few hours. No current depression treatment has such a rapid effect.

"For these patients, it's important to get the mood stabilized," Woodring said.

Woodring, medical director at Elevate, and his partners are anesthesiologists who use ketamine in operating rooms every day. They started their ketamine infusion clinic in Branson because they work with a psychiatrist there. They do not diagnose depression or any other mental illness, but administer intravenous doses of ketamine to relieve depressive symptoms, including suicidal ideation.

Because depression is such a complex illness with no discernible cause, Woodring said, being able to treat patients who suffer from depression with the fast-acting ketamine has been a relief.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved expedited development and review of the drug esketamine, commonly called ketamine, in treating major depression.(Photo: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

It's been more than a relief for Gabrielle Idlet of Fayetteville, Arkansas. She calls it a miracle.

Idlet, 47, has suffered from bipolar disorder since she was diagnosed 16 years ago. She said she's tried everything to abate her symptoms, from psychotherapy to medication to lifestyle changes, but nothing has impacted her the way ketamine has.

"After that first ketamine treatment, I felt something different happening to me," she said. "It was totally wild, like a psychedelic trip. I felt lifted up as soon as the ketamine hit my system."

Idlet described it as a "pleasant, fascinating experience" that allowed her to focus and feel "energized and weirdly stable." She was able to engage in conversations and navigate situations, unlike before.

"It was sort of like a Hail Mary thing. I had been absolutely treatment resistant. Nothing was working," she said. "I was in a very dangerous place, and all of the lifestyle stuff I was doing was having a slight impact, but it wasn't keeping the suicidal thoughts away."

Idlet had seen seven or eight pharmacologists, the latest of whom is a friend of Fayetteville psychiatrist Dr. Kathleen Wong, who provides ketamine infusion therapy at the clinic Bridges to Wellbeing. The pharmacologist suggested Idlet try ketamine infusions after medication left her feeling numb and repressed.

"All these years, it felt like they were just throwing pasta at the wall and seeing what stuck," Idlet said. "Nothing was actually addressing the chaos inside."

Researchers have discovered that ketamine has profound antidepressant activity that kicks in within hours.(Photo: Ben Goode, Getty Images/Hemera)

Wong started providing ketamine infusion therapy to her patients in June. Since then, she said her practice has "absolutely exploded," and she has been desperately trying to recruit providers.

"I'm floored by how powerful an agent it seems to be," she said. "After a few treatments, people transformed."

Wong said the best medicine for depression has maybe a 40 percent response rate, while ketamine has about a 70 percent response rate. People who have tried medication, talk therapy and even electroconvulsive therapy, which is generally considered a last resort for people with depression, have seen improvements with ketamine, she said.

Three things typically happen after receiving ketamine treatment, Wong said: People's symptoms get resolved, particularly suicidal ideation, they need less psychiatric medication, and their psychotherapy sessions become more productive.

"After all the treatments were done, I was completely in the midst of what felt like a metamorphosis," Idlet said. "It was unreal."

Idlet no longer struggled to focus on a task and remain motivated. She even found herself wanting to do housework.

She started ketamine infusion therapy with Wong in October and completed her initial treatment in early December. Treatment time and dosage varies by patient.

Woodring said ketamine takes effect within minutes and lasts longer each time it's used. Generally, patients receive three infusion treatments over the course of a week to see if it has an effect. If the ketamine is effective, the patient returns for three more infusion treatments over the course of another week. After those six treatments, patients usually can go several months without an infusion.

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Time

Each infusion treatment takes about an hour, Woodring said. The dosage is about one-tenth to one-twentieth the dose given for anesthesia, and each dose costs about $400. Because ketamine is not FDA-approved for depression treatment, insurance does not pay for it.

When administered, ketamine can cause drowsiness, unsteadiness, nausea and vomiting, Woodring said. Those side effects typically last about three to four hours, but the mood elevation, which takes effect immediately, lasts for about a day. The mood elevation effect accumulates over successive infusions.

While Woodring called the drug "safe and effective," he acknowledged that ketamine has had some recreational use in the past, as the party drug Special K.

Ketamine is an extremely powerful anesthetic, typically used for tranquilizing large mammals like horses and cattle. Some experts have raised concerns about potential overdoses on the drug because there is no standard dose for treating depression. Others worry it could be addictive.

Woodring said he has not seen addiction in his patients or any other long-term side effects. The clinic treats about 15 patients a month.